“It appears the island could have supported 17,500 people at
its peak, which represents the upper end of the range of previous
estimates,” said Cedric Puleston, lead author of the study, based
at the Department of Anthropology at the University of California,
in a statement. “Despite its almost complete isolation, the
inhabitants of Easter Island created a complicated social structure
and these amazing works of art before a dramatic change occurred,”
Puleston added. “We examined detailed maps, took soil samples
around the Island, placed weather stations, used population models
and estimated sweet potato production.

It's been five days since President Donald Trump last tweeted
about Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico. And his new tone-deaf
comments Monday aren't going over well. One would think if it takes
that long to further comment after a deadly Category 4 storm
wracked a U.S. territory of 3.4 million people with hurricane-force
winds and 40 inches of rain, the tweets would be a thoughtful
response to an island in ruin. Wait, we're talking about Trump.
Never mind. SEE ALSO: Hurricane Maria seen swirling from space in
new video Trump seemed to blame Puerto Rico for the devastation in
a series of three tweets sent out Monday night. He negs all over
Puerto Rico, from its infrastructure to financial issues, as he
describes the disaster. Texas & Florida are doing great but
Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure
& massive debt, is in deep trouble.. — Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017 ...It's old electrical grid,
which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was
destroyed, with billions of dollars.... — Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017 ...owed to Wall Street and
the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical
are top priorities - and doing well. #FEMA — Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017 A majority of Puerto Rico's
crops have been devastated, causing concerns of food shortages, and
power still remains out in parts of the territory. It could remain
that way for six months or longer. Puerto Rican citizens have
said they feel forgotten after Maria, giving Trump's tweets an
extra layer of scum. Everyone from climate scientists to activists
were taken aback by his tweetstorm. OMFG.After inexcusable
days of silence about the disaster in Puerto Rico, THIS is what
Trump has to say: tsk, tsk, it's your own fault? 1/
https://t.co/9OLa5wa5hC — Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) September 26,
2017 He is bound and determined to make "Heckuva Job, Brownie" look
good. https://t.co/tErMNkg9LW — Debra Wexler (@DebraWexler_)
September 26, 2017 Really not sure how to read this other than
Trump taking this opportunity to blame Puerto Rico for its
misfortune... pic.twitter.com/KgpIPaYIk1 — McKay Coppins
(@mckaycoppins) September 26, 2017 Is the President of the United
States saying that the mammoth hurricane damage is Puerto Rico’s
fault? https://t.co/HHjdne94o9 — Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower)
September 26, 2017 Trump's disgusting attempts to blame Puerto Rico
makes me want to vomit... pic.twitter.com/MoV4RorykJ —
Melanie321 (@Mellie4Justice) September 26, 2017 Our fellow
Americans in Puerto Rico have suffered enough. They need more help
now, anything but the President's hallmark bullying.
https://t.co/5cbErHIZQy — Mindy Finn (@mindyfinn) September 26,
2017 Just so you know where we’re going: Trump is setting the stage
to blame Americans in Puerto Rico for him not being capable of
doing his job. — Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) September 26, 2017
Federal aid is flowing to Texas and Florida after Hurricanes Harvey
and Irma, but recovery work will require long-term efforts. In
contrast, the White House has yet to send a disaster aid request to
Congress for Puerto Rico, which gets the process for aid money
started. (It sent the request for Texas six days after Harvey; it's
expected to send one for Puerto Rico in early October, according to
reports.) The government has indeed sent thousands of federal
employees and multiple Coast Guard ships to the territory, but
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said the humanitarian crisis
requires more help, especially from the Pentagon in terms of law
enforcement and transportation support, according to the
Washington Post. On the day of the storm, Trump sent out
this message to Rossello, who's been generally positive about
Trump's response. Governor @RicardoRossello- We are with you and
the people of Puerto Rico. Stay safe! #PRStrong — Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2017 FEMA Administrator Brock Long
arrived on the island Monday. Maria smacked Puerto Rico on Sept.
20. WATCH: A farmer's reunion with his animals after
Hurricane Harvey will leave you needing tissues

One week before the announcement of the 2017 Nobel prizes
begins, the Nobel Foundation said Monday that this year's winners
will receive a larger monetary award worth over a million dollars.
"The Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation decided at its
meeting on September 14 that the 2017 Nobel Prize will amount to
SEK 9 million ($1.1 million, 944.000 euros) per prize category,"
the private institution based in Stockholm said in a statement. In
2012, the cash award was reduced by 20 percent to 8 million krona
from the 10 million krona which had been awarded since 2001 in
order not to put the foundation's capital at risk long term, it
said at the time.

Botanical gardens are a Noah's Ark for endangered plants,
collectively safeguarding four out of 10 species known to face
extinction, researchers said Monday. Species diversity is far
richer in the tropics, but more than 90 percent of vegetal safe
havens are in the northern hemisphere. "The global network of
botanical gardens is our best hope for saving some of the world's
most endangered plants," said senior author Samuel Brockington, a
researcher at the University of Cambridge in England.

NASDAQ:RXII RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ:RXII) is a
unique player in the RNAi space due to the inherent self-delivery
mechanism that efficiently distributes its interference RNA to the
cell. ...

It’s been a big week for the gene therapy universe. Of course,
there’s the latest Barron’s cover story, which details the emerging
medical revolution and highlights three stocks -- AveXis (AVXS),
Regenxbio (RGNX), and Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) -- that have big
stakes in what is widely considered one of the most exciting areas
in the biotechnology arena. Last week, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
(RARE) offered to buy Dimension Therapeutics (DMTX) for at $5.50
per share in cash.

Life expectancy in the United States ticked upward between 2000
and 2015, but that rise was blunted by increasing rates of
opioid-related deaths, a new report finds. Overall, life expectancy
at birth increased by 2 years between 2000 and 2015, the report
found. The life expectancy for a person born in the U.S. in 2000 is
76.8 years, compared with 78.8 years for a person born in the U.S.
in 2015.

France is planning to cut back on use of all pesticides, the
government said Monday, though it rowed back on an announcement of
an outright ban on controversial chemical glyphosate. Government
spokesman Christophe Castaner had said earlier Monday that France
-- Europe's biggest food producer -- intended to phase out
glyphosate completely by 2022 over fears that it may cause
cancer.

A giant panda couple struggling to produce cubs in an
Australian zoo have been given a helping hand by vets who hope to
overcome the bears' notorious breeding difficulties with three
artificial inseminations. Fu Ni and Wang Wang arrived in Adelaide
from China in late 2009 as part of a programme aimed at breeding
the Southern Hemisphere's first baby pandas.

The 36-year-old Mexican marketing consultant recounted an
ordeal of more than 30 hours that started on Tuesday afternoon when
the 7.1 earthquake hit Mexico City, bringing down the office block
she was in, along with dozens of other buildings. When the
trembling started, Zamora told AFP, she grabbed her phone and went
to the reception area on the third floor of the six-story
structure.

A man wipes off the headlights of the L.L. Bean Bootmobile in
the parking lot at the facility where the famous outdoor boot is
made. L.L. Bean is pushing back against a boycott led by a group
urging consumers not to shop at retailers that support
President-elect Donald Trump after it was revealed that Linda Bean,
heir of the Maine-based company’s founder, had donated to a
political action committee that helped elect Trump. “We are deeply
troubled by the portrayal of L.L. Bean as a supporter of any
political agenda,” Shawn Gorman, L.L. Bean’s executive chairman,
said in a statement posted to Facebook late Sunday.

Trump tours a Carrier factory in Indianapolis, Dec. 1, 2016.
Chuck Jones, the union leader who claims President-elect Donald
Trump lied to Carrier employees while touting a deal to keep jobs
in the U.S., says he started receiving harassing phone calls a half
hour after Trump slammed him on Twitter. “I’ve been doing this job
for 30 years,” Jones, president of the United Steelworkers Local
1999, told CNN on Thursday morning.

Photographer Joseph O. Holmes photographs the last days of
the 90-year-old Manhattan matzo factory. Located on Rivington
Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Streit's Matzo Factory has
been pumping out as much as 900 pounds of matzo an hour to feed New
York's Jewish community for almost a century. After 90 years,
though, Streit's is closing-up shop, shutting down its Manhattan
factory and ...

By Alwyn Scott NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) -
Labor union officials say they could postpone a vote seeking to
organize 3,000 workers at Boeing Co's factory here in South
Carolina if their campaign fails to gain enough traction against
fierce opposition from the company and local politicians.
Organizers for the International Association of Machinists (IAM)
are going door-to-door ...

Labour union officials say they could postpone a vote seeking
to organise 3,000 workers at Boeing Co's factory here in South
Carolina if their campaign fails to gain enough traction against
fierce opposition from the company and local politicians.
Organizers for the International Association of
Machinists (IAM) are going door-to-door this week to gauge backing
for the April 22 vote, and to ...

A film industry rep is expecting one of the biggest rallies
in the province’s history Wednesday as talks between the industry
and government on the film tax credit continue. Screen Nova Scotia
chair, Marc Almon, and other industry members met … Continue
Reading

Nova Scotia's film industry maintained pressure Tuesday on
the provincial government over a change to its film tax credit,
although the sides emerged from a meeting with different
interpretations over a potential compromise. Key industry players
expressed some optimism, describing a two-hour meeting with Finance
Minister Diana Whalen and her officials as productive. Screen Nova
Scotia chairman ...